Death Is Just A Ring Away
by cumleaf
Summary: Oh right, the poison. The poison for Haruhi. The poison chosen specially to kill Haruhi. In unison, Kaoru and Hikaru interlaced their fingers and faced each other, "Haruhi's poison."


**A/N - I had to fill in some gaps but this is from a dream I had a few months ago.**

On a specific day each Spring, in a place far off the map and away from civilization, copious amounts of people would gather in a field. Concrete would burst from the ground, creating a fortress of protective walls that were invisible from the inside - keeping everything in, from getting out. To some, what met their eye was a carnival full of games and laughter; to the others, it was the wolf herding the sheep to slaughter.

The day was airy, Haruhi was behind the wheel of an old rusted, red truck clunking down a winding road, canopied by earthy trees and a gentle breeze. The windows were rolled down and she rested her arm on the door, the peeking rays of light welcoming and playful. The road straightened out around a sharp turn, an Arctic fox stood motionless with deterrent eyes. The wheel spun out of control as she swerved to the side, Haruhi was struck with a horrifying thought that this could end badly and as the truck charged relentlessly down the decline, her calculating mind came to the realization white foxes didn't live in this part of the world.

The speed caused the engine to give way, and the broken down vehicle came to a gasping halt and Haruhi let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. On shaky legs, her slender physique stepped lightly to the ground. She wore a loose fitting, floral pink dress that caressed an inch above the knee and although her hair was short, the wind had mingled so recklessly that strands splayed all over the place.

Glancing at her phone, no bars were present and she hadn't had a signal for miles now, she closed her eyes and took calming breathes. Since it was still early afternoon, she decided to embrace the day and leisurely walk until she found help. A few hours passed, up ahead she saw a clearing in the trees that showed a ferris wheel and booths full of smiling faces, the air was thick with sweet smelling food and her mouth watered. Her body practically floated through the gate and on a small green hill a group of attendants stood speaking in hush tones and a gleam in their eye.

Haruhi made her way over to them and they greeted her with sickly sweet smiles and she asked to borrow a phone to call her father so he wouldn't worry. A brunette with ocean filled eyes introduced herself as Éclair and with a posh French accent she said, "there is no signal around here due to the fact there are no cell towers but please enjoy the festivities," and with that she turned her back and the conversation struck up again.

She figured there must be a landline around here somewhere, even a payphone would do but the more she walked around, something about this felt off and trusting her gut she made for an exit. She walked into the main building and as she did, iron gates fell down and a silent alarm was triggered and red lights flashed inside as not to alert the families. Haruhi ran back through the door she had come in and bolted toward the trees, she could hear snapping twigs and yelling behind her which only made her push her legs to run faster.

As she was running, she saw clothes strewn around the ground and hanging off bushes, she had lost the unrelenting organization of questionable sociopaths for now and she bent down and picked up a striped, green sweater. Night was creeping closer and there was a coldness in the air. She pulled the sweater over her head and slowly continued on her way as to not draw attention to herself. She walked for another mile before hearing distraught voices and she tiptoed closer to hear better.

"We're going to die out here!" a boy's voice whined. "Pull yourself together, Tamaki, this isn't a time to be such a baby."

Haruhi figured now was as good a time as any to show herself and wrapping her arms around her torso she gingerly walked out from behind the foliage. They all stared at each other hesitantly before Renge pointed her finger and bellowed "address yourself, intruder!" Haruhi was caught off guard as something whacked her in the back of the knees and she came crashing to the hard ground. "Sneaking up on people is bad," a small blonde pouted, holding a wriggling bunny.

"Is that my sweater?" Tamaki confidently strode up to Haruhi, he cocked his head to the side and out of the shadows swooped a gangly, dark haired boy with glasses. "Now, now, Tamaki, finders keepers." Haruhi was confused by how calm they all seemed and getting to her feet, she ignored the previous conversation, asked, "does anyone know how to get out of here? I need to get home."

He pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose, "my name is Kyoya, and who just might you be?" Staring dumbfoundedly at how casual he seemed, she sputtered, "I'm Haruhi but I don't think that matters at a time like this." Bouncing back and forth on the heels of his feet, the boy with the bunny spoke in a childish voice, "of course it matters, Haru-chan! I'm Honey and this is Usa-chan."

"Now that all the introductions are out of the way, let's find a way out of here! We're going to need to split up." and without another word, they went in different directions, Tamaki tagging along behind Kyoya like a lost puppy and Haruhi chose to follow the abrasive Renge.

"Are you sure we're going in the right direction, senpai?" Haruhi asked, trying to avoid hitting her head on low hanging branches. "Well, do you have a better way?" with that they continued on in silence except for the crunching of leaves and debris underfoot. They came across the edge of a cliff and without stopping, Renge took a running start and jumped onto the nearest cloud. "Are you coming or what?" Haruhi was taken aback and questioned this girl's sanity, before taking a leap of faith, literally.

She landed clumsily on the fluffy, white cloud that was surprisingly sturdy and gently drifted on the breeze. They were high up in the mountains that sat lonely in the middle of the ocean; in the middle sat an enclosed lake, with pads of broken glaciers. She looked down, taking in the beautiful view. As her doe eyes scanned the scene below her, she saw Tamaki stranded, flailing around causing the ice to drift further from the bank where Kyoya stood unamused. A massive gust of air threw the cloud into a tailspin, their knuckles were white from the grip they held. They hit the peak and turned upright and twirled around to see a hillside made up of M&Ms spread out before them.

The hills went on for what seemed like forever, not long after the moon rose bashfully, the cloud had lulled the two of them into a soundless sleep. The night was warm, even up here on the mountain top but it seemed to slip by without notice as the sun yawned into a new day. Birds chirped below them, nudging them awake. Haruhi rubbed her eyes and cursed herself for falling asleep with contacts in.

Not long after, the cloud lazily descended in the middle of an intersection and disappeared without a trace. Cars honked noisily around them and they bewilderly staggered to the side of the road. In front of then shone the magenta bell of Taco Bell and they made their way over to find a phone. Two fiery haired twins blocked her path, a towering stoic guy stood behind them.

"You know," one said, "the only way home," the other continued, "is to drink the potion," they finished in unison.

"What potion?" Haruhi asked, noticing Renge was no longer next to her. One twin reached for her hand, grabbed a ring she didn't know she was wearing and flipped open a small compartment built into it. Inside was a blue liquid that glistened in the sunlight. "What is that?" The other twin tilted her head back and slipped the ring between her teeth and the fluid slid bitterly down her throat. "What are you-" Haruhi was cut off as poison entered her system and she woke up gasping for breath. It had all been a dream.


End file.
